About OAPA

Formed in 1978, the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants (OAPA) has provided a foundation for the PA profession for the state of Ohio. This organization promotes quality, cost-effective, accessible health care through the physician assistant – physician team approach. OAPA has and continues to strive to advance this profession through legislation, providing CME opportunities, and promoting our career to the general public. By becoming a member, you can be a part of this ever-growing organization.

 

Mission

  • Promote quality, cost-effective, accessible health care, and to promote the professional and personal development of physician assistants within the organization.
  • Provide the general membership with a forum for assembly regarding issues that relate to physician assistants.

  • Facilitate mutual assistance and support of physician assistants, health professionals and health services by organizing and disseminating health care information through forums, panels, and other similar programs concerning the delivery and quality of health care services within Ohio.

 

OAPA History

1971: Gilbert Nelmes and James Asher, graduates of Duke University PA Program are the first PAs to practice in Ohio with Robert Johnson, M.D. Gen. Practitioner Coshocton, Ohio

1974: Cuyahoga Community College PA Program becomes first program in Ohio to be accredited by Joint Review Committee for Educational Programs for the Assistant to Primary Care Physician (JRC-PA) on March 1974. Cincinnati Technical College Urology Assistant Program becomes accredited by the American College of Surgeons co-sponsor of JRC-PA November 1974. Students from Cuyahoga Community College PA Program class of ‘74 & ‘75 meet to discuss establishing a professional society and investigate the process for drafting and introducing first statutes governing scope of practice.

1979: Ohio Attorney General William Brown renders an official opinion which determines that reimbursement

for the delivery of primary health services rendered by physician assistants (nurse practitioners) is

authorized under the Ohio Medicaid program.

2006: Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R) 1st District introduces SB 154 and Rep. Jon Peterson (R) 2nd

District introduces companion bill HB 305 to expand PA scope of practice including physician delegated

prescriptive authority with Schedule III-V drugs, will require a masters degree to prescribe and practice

after 2008, included a “grandfather clause” for PAs who had been in practice for greater than 10 years,

changed terminology of a" physician assistant utilization plan" to" physician supervisory plan" and

further define that process, removed the "new patient/new condition" requirements, redefined

"supervision" to include a 60 minute distance requirement for off-site supervision and no

countersignature for writing medical orders, passed by 126th General Assembly on 01/31/2006

2012: Rep. Anne Gonzalez (R) 19th District and Rep. Tom Letson (D) 64th District introduces

HB 284 on 06/28/2011 to expand PA scope of practice including adding Schedule II drugs to PA

formulary, pronouncing death, giving medical direction to emergency medical providers, waived the

masters degree requirement to practice in this state for PAs who have served 3 consecutive years in the

Federal services, passed by 129th General Assembly on 12/13/2012

2013: OAPA drafts legislation and secures a Sponsor with the intent to have legislation introduced as soon as

possible. The draft language includes removal of the list in ORC 4730.09, elimination of the 60 minute

rule and the restriction limiting the number of PAs that can be supervised as well as clarifying that PAs

can delegate to MAs. Also on the agenda will be combining both the certificate to practice and

certificate to prescribe into one license and removing the Ohio Medical Board approval of supervisory

agreements and supervision plans. The agreements and plans would be kept on file at the practice.

2015: SB110 passed the 131st General Assembly

 

Who is a PA?

A Physician Assistant (PA) is a member of the healthcare team who is trained, nationally certified, and state licensed to practice medicine in collaboration with a supervising physician in a variety of health care settings. PAs can see patients in a way similar to a physician. They can perform comprehensive physical exams, order and interpret diagnostic tests, diagnose and initiate treatment. Additionally, they are trained to first assist in surgery, perform bedside procedures and much more. In Ohio, PAs are licensed and regulated by the Ohio State Medical Board, the same as physicians.

Who can become a PA: Anyone with a commitment to lifelong learning and a passion to serve their community. Admission to PA school is rigorous and generally requires a bachelor's degree, with multiple pre-requisite courses in the areas of general sciences and anatomy. Additionally, many programs require their applicants to have a set number of PA shadowing hours and clinical patient care hours. However, just as it is for admission to medical school, it is not required that an individual hold a Major in a science or have a background in medicine to become a PA, and diversity in the profession is encouraged.

What's involved in the training process: Most PA schools are 27-30 months in duration, a Masters level of education, and is typically divided into a didactic and clinical curricula. Didactic year is rigourous and mirrors the first two years of a typical medical school curriculum with emphasis in the areas of clinical medicine, pathophysiology, anatomy, and pharmacology. Clinical year typically entails 4-6 week clinical rotations in the core areas of family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, mental and behavioral health, women’s health and pediatrics. Upon graduation from an accredited PA program, students must sit for boards, Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, commonly referred to as the PANCE, which is the national certification process administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Upon becoming nationally certified, PA-Cs, are generally permitted to obtain state licensure and prescribing abilities. PAs are required to engage in Continuing Medical Education (CME). Nationally, PAs are required to obtain 100 CME every 24 months. The state of Ohio specifically requires an additional 12 hours of CME dedicated specifically to pharmacology.

What's the difference between NP and PA: Like PAs, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are Advanced Practice Providers (APP). PAs and NPs alike work together with doctors, nurses, medical assistants and other members of the healthcare team to provide evidence-based medical care. PAs and NPs have different training, licensure and certification processes. PA didactic and clinical curriculum is modeled after the medical model, and closely resembles that of MD/DO programs; whereas NPs are trained under a nursing model, first attending nursing school and then obtaining their Masters. NPs are trained under specific “tracks” (Family, Pediatric, Critical Care, etc), whereas PAs are trained and recertify as generalists, with the options to change specialties throughout their career.

 

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